VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - Lowndes County has decided to be more hands-on with the handling of its misdemeanor probation violations.

County commissioners voted to no longer use a third party source to handle their probation cases.

In turn, the county has created the Department of Probation to deal with offenses that are not that of a felony.

Lowndes County Spokesperson Paige Dukes said shifting responsibility back house is a trend that's growing throughout the state.

"It really boils down to the level of service that's being provided to those people using the service, and it's not just those on probation, we have internal customers such as the court system," explained Dukes.

The county is looking for people who have probation officer experience or who meet the education requirements.